Silence…
Kingsley could only stay where he was, but even his head turned when he heard these words. The basement carried her hate-filled echo through the empty walls. Caius only stood there, in front of her. His contemplation, void of hope…the only person that he wished to see every day, love and dote upon, has now given her verdict.
Odette broke down into silent tears.
"I wish I had never saved you that day…" she wanted to scream that she did not mean this.
"I wish you were never even there to begin with!" Her hands pushed him away, but he refused to let go, painfully listening to her.
"I honestly wish you were never born!"
Every ounce of strength he used to hold his heartbreak behind and never let her see him disintegrate came to a halt at the feet of those wretched words. One by one, thin tears let loose. He shook visibly from the frigid atmosphere, and his wounds did not stop their spoilage,
Yet…keeping everything aside,
"You don't really mean that." All the anger and menacing spite faded from his face, leaving a lost, desperate visage of sorrow. "You don't really mean it…Do you?"
Odette bit the inside of her lips very hard. She took one look at his face and, with all the remaining energy, spat out,
"You're a monster who should have been locked away from this world."
She saw his eyes widen in shock. Odette didn't know she held such power over Caius, the Constantine heir. What could she do? Let Nathaniel hurt him again? Only hatred could save Caius now.
She searched his speechless gaze, the depth of his tragic sable eyes. The prominent nose that was painted with deep lacerations. His furrowed eyebrows, trembling lips that bore marks from a beating.
Time for the final push…
She drew a small knife from her pocket, stolen from Nathaniel. Kingsley jumped in at the sight.
"Young Miss."
"Stay back, Kingsley…get ready to leave with him," her cracked voice commanded.
Caius saw the emblem of the East Wing on that knife. His life could not get any more wretched. With a mocking laugh, he stepped closer to her where the knife stood in between them, the blade at his chest level.
"Are you going to threaten me to leave you?"
Strong fingers slithered up on her face, impelling her to look at his untamed eyes. That look of defeat was nowhere to be found; he seemed to be carrying a menacing sense of chaos within.
"Stabbing me or hurting me won't do the trick."
The resonance of his voice eerily stated an obvious fact. He sounded casual, but it never matched his bloodshot eyes.
"You and I end here." Odette drew the knife, its point almost touching her neck.
His eyes twitched slightly at the motion.
Odette, exhausted by everything, continued, "You will leave this place without me, yes… And by without me, I was being metaphorical, and if necessary, realistic as well."
The thin, cold edge of the knife pressed onto her neck.
She wanted his gaze to be antithetical, to reflect the threat she posed. But all he did was peer into her eyes, unblinking. Odette parted her lips to deliver a final, shattering sentence of bad faith, but he snatched the wrist holding the knife. With his other hand, he seized her neck and pulled her toward him, pressing his lips to hers abruptly.
Alarmed, she felt his hand slither to the back of her head and press her deeper into his embrace. There was no trace of gentleness, no waiting, and no patience as he had before. Caius sucked on her upper lip, trapping it in between his teeth. He pried her mouth open with his warm tongue, sending chills down her spine.
They both fought for freedom.
She wanted to be freed from his clutches, while he wanted to be redeemed from this torturing betrayal. With his hand holding her head and his lips owning every corner of her mouth, Odette had nowhere to escape. She could only shake under his yearning tongue that dragged across her lower lip, unveiling the entirety of her mouth. The taste of blood began to cover all her taste buds. He nipped and pulled at her with indescribable desperation.
She had had enough...
It was time for her to leave him for good.
Eyes tightly shut, the hand that held the knife assembled every ounce of power in her body and rammed the sharp edge into his shoulder.
…
It was a moment when a resonating flare boomed into his ears…a second when his tears blurred his entire vision. A moment when his body completely desensitized but also darted into a fire of agony at the same time. He drew back, gasping in pain. Her bloodshot gaze and trembling lips were right in front of him, a few inches away. That entire minute, he watched the breathtaking hue of her warm orbs, mirroring his thunderstruck face.
"Take him away, Kingsley." Swollen lips whispered.
This was the last thing Caius saw before his vision blackened out.
There could have been many conflicts etched inside the Constantine mansion before. Many throats slit; a lot of blood splattered on the empty corridors. Each family head carried a different type of malice. In this cursed place, under its overbearing presence, a librarian dragged the master of this house. The heir to the Constantine family, a man who was forced to become the dehumanized creation of chaos. The battered old man tugged his heavy body away, towards the entrance that he and Odette had opened.
What she said was true.
There were many voices above them and the crisp smell of fire. Smoke began to fill the basement, and the loud footsteps overwhelmed him. As he stopped at the ladder leading them out, he risked his life to look back to see her.
In the middle of the slight fog created by the flames, she stood strong, emotionally extinct.
Her hand was bloodied from the stab, the knife now on the ground. Her hair was disheveled, strands falling onto the broken face. She did not catch his eye but aimlessly turned around to trudge towards the main entrance. The slowly fading image of her, staggering and departing from the bonds she herself had riven into pieces.
Truly …disheartening.
Kingsley breathed in heavily.
"I thank you once again, young miss."
Mumbling this chain of words, he began to hurry up the ladder along with the unconscious man. As soon as they got out, smelling the fresh air of fire and impending destruction, the librarian heard an unfamiliar echo from beneath.
It was a man's voice, and he was angry.
"What were you even thinking?" She had only taken a few steps ahead when Nathaniel barged in with a few of his men. There were contrasting expressions on his face. He was furious. Those almond-shaped eyes that usually smiled at her seemed troubled and frustrated. None of that was worth caring about for Odette.
She looked up at him, exposing the sorry state that she was currently suffering from. Her eyes were inflamed and swollen from grief. Nathaniel could not help but wonder what exactly happened in the cellars. She breathed in a wave of tears and gulped down a whole lot of unbearable despair as she raised her hands to show the bloodied palms.
"I killed him."
The sound of a clanging bell reverberated through his mind as he watched her stupefied.
"What?"
Odette bit the inside of her mouth and pointed towards something lying on the floor, "I stabbed him."
Saying these words took immense effort. She could freshly remember the face of pure agony and betrayal that was etched on Caius' face. Slowly, realizing that it was all over, it was all done, her heart began to inhale very loudly...visibly.
"You always wanted this to end right?" she heaved so visibly, "I ended it for you… today."
Fat streams of warm, burning tears gushed down her face as she started to break down into a lonely cry, "I stabbed him and left him to die, Nathaniel, aren't you happy now?" She was sobbing entirely now.
"He bled…" she forced herself to stand upright in front of all these men, "I ended the years-long revenge you wanted to take, Nathaniel."
A painstaking smile shone upon her face as she let the grief slowly drown her,
"You don't have to go behind these useless things now."
Nathaniel watched the only person he deeply treasured break down into loud sobs in the middle of the dark basement. Her hair was ruffled up, and her face had dried blood splatters and crimson fingerprints. He watched her fall onto her knees and start sobbing wholeheartedly.
"You should be happy…" she mumbled through her tears, "I took revenge on you."
Her breathing hastened as she clutched her aching chest. Nathaniel could not hold on any longer. He knelt in front of her and pulled her into a strong embrace.
"It's all done now." He stared into an oblivion, still not able to believe that she took this duty up into her hands and actually hurt Caius.
She was senseless. His hands snaked around her, forming a protective wall, rubbing her back, trying his best to soothe her. His chin rested on her head reverently. Hearing the heartbreaking cry, he could not help but kiss her forehead and mutter in guilt.
"I am very sorry Odette, I'm sorry..."
His heart ached to see her break down and sob like a small girl. He could only bury her in his arms and soothe her. He could only look at her clothes stained with blood and stare at the distance where no one except the bloodied knife hissed against the empty walls.
That day...
...under the flames, among the many who were barging in to find empty cells and all the prisoners gone, a single wailing echoed through the entire land. It drilled into the walls and traveled far into the chicken coop, where a child was carried out by men who came to burn the mansion down. Her voice calling out to the distance, melancholy etched in every note of her throat, exclaiming in pain and agony. Sealing the air dancing within the Constantine mansion.